I will probably rock the current barrel until everything is dialed and once I find a good shop around here. I saw some pricing and its not as bad as I would have thought. I actually had a ton of places pop up so I will probably find the most convenient for me. Thanks for the advice on the parts and stuff. I feel like I would be dead in the water without it!

So I joined the customcockers.com site and there is a ton of information on there! Thank you for that! Also, it says that there are two versions of the frame and you cannot install the latest firmware on the older style? How do I tell which I have? Also it says there are three versions of the front block? Is there one better than the others, and which do I have? Thanks duder!

Oh boy.. you want the meat and potatoes now..
There are 2 versions of the frame, the DOME switch is V1 and the LEAF switch is V2. The EASIEST way to tell is by opening the grip frame. If you have a micro switch that looks like a push button, a ribbon cable for the membrane pad, and the board is rectangular with no cut outs, you have a V1 DOME board.
If you have a micro switch that has the metal arm, the board is a T shape and the membrane pad is wired, that is a V2 LEAF board. Another easy way to tell is looking at the printed date on the bottom of the board 2001= dome 2002 = leaf.
99% you have a leaf.
There were 3 main front blocks. 1 was just a sheet metal cover for the noid. Both the HUGE SMC and the smaller SMC used this type of cover though one was quite a bit larger then the other. The second was an Eblock. A front block with the noid cover built in. ANS, FreeFlow, and RaceGun made their own version of this with slight variations to milling and engraving. The 3rd block was strictly for the F1. It came in 2 types as well. the Eblock which would only fit the F1 noid and was machined to mate up to the body of the racegun halfblocks, and the F1/2k5 frame kit which included a screw on cover for the F1 noid that would attach to any front block in place of the 3way.
Your STO has the 2nd type. There is no advantage really aside from a cleaner look. The F1 noid only really fits in the F1 housing because it is a LOT smaller then the other SMC noids, and likewise the SMC noids will not fit in the F1 housing.

That is a grip of good information there. My board says 2002 and the pad was originally wired, not a ribbon cable. I mainly wanted to know this info for a couple reasons. One being that on customcockers they said to not upload the latest firmware on the board if it was v.1 so this is good for me. Also, I would like to know exactly what my gun is composed of and what I can upgrade in the future. I got my battery in today, so hopefully tonight or tomorrow I can get down to the shop and solder it together. The red wire should splice right in to the red and black to black correct? I believe it should in the idea that the molex is wired only one way usually. Thanks again!

I could only imagine what a point blank shot could do to a flimsy solenoid!

I just soldered the wires together and got the marker back in one piece. When I pull the bolt back to cock the marker, I notice it is not far back enough to allow a paintball to enter the barrel, but it is able to be pulled back. Is this normal for not having air? Also, the trigger might have debris or something lodged in it because it is sticking on me, does the pin just tap out that holds it in?

The 3way will click with out air. Easy way to make sure it is working.

Now we have arrived at timing. When you pull the backblock the bolt should be 1/2way clear of the breach before it hits the cocking rod to pull back the hammer. It should be about a thumb nails thickness behind the breach at full travel and the hammer should have caught on the sear by now.

I don't seem to hear a click coming from the 3-way. Unless it is when I pull the trigger but it might be from the trigger solenoid clicking. Cleaned my trigger today. Probably gonna bite the bullet and order up a tank while I am at it.

As for the timing, when I pull the backblock back and it locks back, when at rest it is 1/2 way in the breach. I can pull it entirely clear of the breach, and it is just barely behind the breach at that point, about a thumb nail distance as you would say.

I think it is clicking. If I hold the 3-way solenoid I can feel a click. If not, it wouldn't be very difficult to switch the wires. I'll make up my mind on the tank this weekend since its saturday night and it wouldn't ship until monday anyways. Seems to be getting close to being fire-ready to me!

So I finally got a Ninja 68/4500 tank and got it filled. Tried firing the gun and a few weird things started to happen. The electronic frame likes to turn itself off at random times, and it does not seem to want to fire. Also, when it is in fire mode, it will randomly go back in to safe mode. Could the polarity on the 3-way be reversed?

Well it might be because it won't go in to fire mode. I heard it fire once actually but it switched right out. Also, the marker will not turn on now. This happens when I cock it, and then turn the air valve on the ASA on. I go to turn it on and nothing. Is this also a sign of a bad battery? Didn't you mention someone who would be able to source one for me?

The battery reads 5.1v direct current with my multimeter. I have only charged it the one time. I realize that this is without a load on it, so the numbers could drasticaly change.